This invention relates, in general, to semiconductor packages, and more particularly, to a semiconductor integrated circuit package having protected brazed leads.
Brazed leads have been used in the past, particularly in dual-in-line packages. These packages either had the brazed connection on the side of the package or the bottom of the package. The leads were typically brazed to the braze pads using a copper/silver (cusil) braze material. Some type of plating was required in order to cover the brazed area and protect it from corrosion. A typical example of such a package is a ceramic side brazed dual-in-line package (DIP).
The protective plating used to cover the brazed area was generally gold or nickel. More recently, nickel was the preferred plating material because of the high cost of gold. However, it would be desirable to eliminate the plating which would result yet in further reduced costs.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved brazed leaded package having buried brazed areas.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a buried brazed leaded package which eliminates the requirement of gold or nickel plating.